DAYTON - The University of Dayton softball team is set to take part in its seventh-consecutive and 11th overall appearance in the Atlantic 10 Softball Championship. Fourth-seeded Dayton will take on No. 5 Saint Joseph's Wednesday at 11 a.m. in the first game at the tournament. The championship is being held May 8-11 at UMass Softball Complex in Amherst, Massachusetts.

About Dayton
Dayton (24-25, 11-7 A-10) earned its seventh-consecutive berth into the Atlantic 10 Championship after taking the final conference series of the season, 2-1, over visiting Saint Joseph's May 4-5 in Dayton. The Flyers' offense is led by sophomore Abby Ehrenborg with a team-best .363 average (8th A-10), 13 home runs (3rd A-10) and 49 RBI (2nd A-10) while senior Lisa Tassi has tallied a team-high 55 hits (9th A-10) and 13 doubles 7th A-10). Senior Jessica Gilliam (11-10) eads the UD pitching corps with a team-low ERA of 3.36, a career-high 86 strikeouts (8th A-10) and four saves (t-2nd A-10).

Scouting the Hawks
Saint Joseph's (26-23, 13-10 A-10) claimed the fifth seed in the 2019 A-10 Softball Championship after posting a 13-10 mark in league action. The Hawks are coming off a 1-2 weekend in Dayton as they were able to claim the 8-1 win over the Flyers in the series finale on Sunday. SJU's Sarah Ostaszewski leads the team offensively with a .354 average, 56 hits (t-7th A-10) and 18 doubles (2nd A-10). Ashley Ventura (13-15) has tallied 16 complete games over 159.0 innings pitched in the circle for the Hawks.

Series Stuff
There have been 51 meetings in the all-time series between Dayton and Saint Joseph's and the Hawks hold a 28-22-1 advantage. The Flyers claimed the 2-1 series win over the Hawks this season and UD has won nine of the last 12 match-ups in the series.

RPI Rankings
In the NCAA's most recent Rating Percentage Index (RPI) for the 2019 season posted on May 5, Dayton came in at 193 according to NCAA.com. Saint Joseph's was ranked 164.

Dayton in #A10SB Championship
2019 marks Dayton's seventh-consecutive and 11th overall appearance in the Atlantic 10 Softball Championship. The Flyers have posted an all-time record of 8-20 in conference tournament games. In 2018, UD finished in third place in the post-season tourney after being eliminated by Massachusetts on Friday.

Walk This Way
Junior Ellie Ziegler has taken a career-high and team-high-tying 15 bases on balls this season. Senior Kyle Davidson has also drawn 15 walks and sophomore Abby Ehrenborg has tallied 12.

Bring Me Home
Sophomore Abby Ehrenborg leads the team and ranks second in the A-10 with 49 RBI this season, a new program single-season record. Ehrenborg has posted 11 multiple-RBI games in 2019 including five RBI against Kennesaw State on Feb. 16 at the Chattanooga Classic. Ehrenborg was named to the All-Conference First Team and All-Rookie Team following her freshman season for her play primarily as designated player.

Catch Me If You Can
As a team, Dayton is 75-97 in stolen bases on the season - the 75 stolen bases ranks tied for first in the Atlantic 10 and is a new single-season program record. The Flyers' 1.53 SB/game ranks 41st nationally. Senior Kyle Davidson leads the Flyers on the base paths with a career-high 19 stolen bases (3rd A-10) on the season. Senior Lisa Tassi has stolen a career-high 16 bases (7th A-10), also a career high, while sophomore Briley Sidor has collected nine stolen bases (t-12th A-10). With her 41 career stolen bases, Davidson ranks fifth all-time in the Dayton record book.

You Won't Catch Me Swingin'
With only five strikeouts in 149 at bats this season, senior Kyle Davidson ranks 18th in all of NCAA DI in the toughest to strikeout category. Senior Lisa Tassi ranks 46th nationally in the same category with seven strikeouts in 153 at bats.

She's A "Hit"ter
Senior Kyle Davidson has tallied 183 career hits and is currently in seventh place in the Dayton record book. Former Flyer Gabrielle Snyder (2014-17) holds the record with 222 hits.

So Offensive
Three Flyers are currently hitting above .300 and their combined number of hits account for 43 percent of the team's total hits.
Abby Ehrenborg: .363, 53
Lisa Tassi: .359, 55
Kyle Davidson: .356, 53

Start Me Up
Senior Kyle Davidson has made 162 consecutive appearances in the Flyers' starting lineup. During her career at UD, Davidson has started in 184 of the 193 games she has played.

#Winning
Dayton head coach Cara LaPlaca tallied her 233rd career win at UD on April 15, 2017 at La Salle, surpassing former Flyer head coach Jodi Eickemeyer as Dayton's all-time winningest coach. She now has 294 wins at UD. Notable - coach LaPlaca currently has 425 career wins as a head coach.

She's Got Class
Senior Kyle Davidson was named one of 30 national candidates for the Senior CLASS Award. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.

Celebrating 40 Seasons
Dayton is celebrating 40 seasons of softball in 2019. The program was started in 1980 and the Flyers have tallied an overall record of 691-973-8 (.415) over the last 40 years. During the final weekend of the regular season, the team welcomed back former Flyer coaches, players and program supporters for a 40-year celebration on Saturday.